STX Next

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of the front office technology team of an investment management firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

The demand for Python developers in cities like London, Boston, and New York is fairly intense. We’re very much a Python shop and we invest a lot of time in our recruiting process and hiring standards. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to find good talent in those geographic hubs and so we wanted to expand our talent pool. We were looking for a firm with a track record of expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve undertaken two main approaches with them.  We started with a standalone project where we wished to enhance data discovery via a rich and interactive frontend. It was a relatively packaged up type process. Alongside STX Next, we gathered requirements from end-users, and STX Next provisioned a team that worked alongside our in-house data engineering team to build that out.

A month later, we kicked off a team augmentation approach also. During this project, STX Next provided engineers to augment our existing engineering team, which was aligned to our discretionary hedge fund building out tooling for the portfolio. The STX Next engineers became part of that team’s daily workflow, their prioritization process, and engage directly with their end-users.

What is the team composition?

They brought a team of engineers with a mix of front- and backend. They had a product owner on their side, which was really key to the success. They came to London and we did design sessions in-person. The product owner really built up a very good understanding of our business, as did all of the engineers. They handled the project management for the standalone project.

In the team augmentation set up, they provided the engineers, and we provided the project and product management.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

We knew them from a few years back when we used them to build out a performance attribution tool which is still in use to this day. We were aware that they positioned themselves as Python specialists, and it felt there would be natural synergy in partnering up with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’re happy with the results on the standalone project approach as well as the team augmentation. From the very start of the data catalog piece they built for us, they were thinking about how to track adoption metrics for this tool when it gets released into the world. We have a set of metrics for that particular tool that we can see the uptake in our user base. I can only characterize it as a success.

We started with one standalone project, one small team augmentation, and we have since added some of their resources in the DevOps space with ongoing maintenance. The fact that we’re adding more building blocks into this STX Next ecosystem tells you about our conviction to work with them.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

They do product management in addition to project management. They have a well-honed, agile delivery process. The other element that really complements that is they are incredibly strong in design. 

They have a very capable design team of in-house designers. That’s a great leverage effect for any firm that doesn’t have that in-house expertise, to be able to draw upon that and get that rich design layer built into your products. It creates a very nice UX on an end-to-end basis. They really want to get to know your company. They’re very disciplined.

We wanted to spend that first year learning how to best interact with them. Now we’re in a place where we can plan for potentially more work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I spent a lot of time speaking with other firms in the analysis phase of this initiative. STX Next had built a really nice culture, one that we felt would be compatible with ours. They’re very inquisitive engineers, plugged in designers, and want to know your business in a genuine way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we first started working with them, I don’t think the finance industry was their biggest vertical. There has been a learning curve of domain knowledge. The nature of their firm is they will provide their services pretty much across industries.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do a proof of concept. Pick a project and make it something not too scary and not too close to your core intellectual property. Embrace the STX Next way of doing things as a starting point. The process can be adapted to suit your team’s working style but get a sense of how they would approach it so that you can map the differences and similarities. They will come to your office to carry out rich design and requirement gathering sessions with your end-users. It is critical that you spend that initial few weeks answering all the questions that they ask and prompting them to ask you 10 more questions. The more time you spend with them upfront, really getting them to understand your business domain knowledge, the better the work they will deliver.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My organization is a tech startup that uses AI to automate technology scouting for Fortune 500 companies, venture capitalists, and foundations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We’re a startup and we were building up the team. We need to figure out all the moving pieces and find an expert in machine learning specifically for text and classification to help build our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They executed our design of a machine learning classification system. They helped us develop the data pipelines to import the data to be classified and all the deployment to production. The project included everything from the data pipeline to the deployment of machine learning algorithms and models.  

What is the team composition?

We had a machine learning engineer, a data engineer, and a full stack developer.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

One of my employees did research and compared the various options out there. STX Next wasn’t the cheapest option out there, but they offered a good, reliable value.

We reached out to STX Next about creating another product. They’re experts in Python and learned they had machine learning in-house, which is difficult to find. We liked that they’ve worked together before because it pays dividends to have a team with established communication patterns. It’s just more efficient.

How much have you invested with them?

It would have been between $15,000–$20,000 per month, so I’d guess around $150,000–$200,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from September 2019 – June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

With their help, we were able to scale our innovation data from about 5,000 innovation records to 200,000 innovation records.

On the machine learning side, the project enabled us to onboard a team of five people for data sanitation, so no our data can be scrubbed and cleaned. This positions us for scalability.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

It was excellent. They delivered what they said they were going to deliver and their estimates for how long it would take were accurate. Our own product manager sets the priorities and timelines on our side. Their side found the staff to fill our needs. We used Jira to keep track of everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We felt fortunate to work with the people that were on our team. They’re good people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re an Austin-based company, and the rigidity to sticking to Polish hours was a challenge. It wasn’t an independent piece of work, so we needed to collaborate. It would have helped if we had the flexibility and their hours overlapped with our hours in the US.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have leadership in-house to guide the project. An in-house team leader can help manage the project and make sure everything is moving along.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a cybersecurity startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We wanted to outsource development tasks related to a custom software project. We needed a team with experience in Python.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided the specifications and requirements for the software and then STX developed two modules using Python. Their team wrote code as well as managed front- and backend development for their designated tasks.

What is the team composition?

STX dedicated a project manager, developers, and other tech teammates to this project.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

We considered a couple of different companies. We liked STX’s experience with Python and their processes, which were similar to ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2019 – March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Before they started to write code, STX brought in a team to understood the specifications because this project was crucial. It had to be finished on time and coded well. If it wasn't, we would've had to return the funding or come up with additional funding internally. We were pleased with the overall quality of their work.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was open and honest. We used e-mail, a ticketing system, source code systems, Microsoft Teams, and Google platforms. We also had a few scheduled meetings as well as on-demand calls when necessary.

Their team met their deadlines. When we couldn’t meet our deadlines, they were flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We liked their DevOps culture, which was similar to ours and made for a smoother partnership. Their team was knowledgeable, especially in Python. They understood our specifications without much explanation, which was better than our experiences with other vendors. During the next round of development, we will definitely work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They aren’t the cheapest. However, you get what you pay for with development.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I can only recommend them regarding working with Python.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital products for a research firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We wanted to expand our development resources with a more local connection. We were looking to add resources in our predominant technology stack of Python and React.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team of engineers from STX Next use a ticketing system for development tasks. Initially, they were collaborating with our internal team, but as time went on, they began working more independently. They mainly work in Python and React. We also have access to UX designers and frontend developers.

What is the team composition?

The service manager is my main point of contact. They assign engineers and designers to work with us on different projects; they have a large crew in four different locations. Team size varies by project.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

We chose them because they had the best talent pool for Python and used Agile methodology. They also had the best pricing.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent $700,000–$800,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

They have done a lot of work in React that has improved the overall look of the product as well as the quality. They help us create and maintain software that is more flexible to adjustments. We have learned a lot from watching their day-to-day processes: standups, bi-weekly sprint reviews, etc. They have made the software development process more transparent and predictable.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a good grip on what they’re doing. They work in Agile methodology. The service manager and I meet every week or two to discuss the progression, what’s going well or needs improvement, and what’s coming up. We also rotate people on and off the project as needed. There is daily interaction between our project manager and their Scrum master and product owner. They also communicate via Slack or phone with our internal team regarding technical challenges or anything that needs to be discussed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a one-stop-shop. A key benefit is their ability to quickly scale up or down, allowing us to get new people on board for projects. It’s very efficient.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They had to develop their React resources along the way, which slowed some things down. They also took a while to understand what drives our company, making it difficult for them to work independently on specific features.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them for the skills they have in-house. Their core strengths are Python and working in greenfield situations, such as startups or new projects. They have a multi-disciplinary team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a IT/healthcare start up company with products to both public and private sector. I'm a chairman of the board.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire STX Next?

We needed to have a good architecture plan, prototype and overall plan to cover future roadmap for developing needs.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to have clean view about our idea and paint that into reality.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had heard STX is a good partner for several fields of our interest and just went for it.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our project was to sit down and use their expertise to get all our thoughts to understandable format. We actually sat down for three straight days together with STX design and developer team to get everything sorted out.

What was the team composition?

Our two founders and 4-5 team members from STX

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

When started we had a bit different approach to our product/service and STX just guided us to the right direction.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was fully taken care of by STX and it was just perfectly done job! Everything was written down with photos, memos, scetches and finally the Plan.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with the pure know-how of the whole team of STX Next employees.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead developer for a seafood marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work on the main development of the marketplace with our in-house team. They’re developing a feature to show the customers which products are available and which aren’t, as well as online payment integration. We’re using only Python for the backend. From time to time, they do a little bit of JavaScript.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one junior backend developer and one senior backend developer. There’s one QA engineer who is developing our automation testing and related features. The manager is my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

Our former CTO chose them, so I can’t say.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2019 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our aim at the beginning was to have more Python developers on the team, and they fit perfectly. We’re working as one big team. We’re able to develop the features that we want and the quality of work has been solid. They’re really experienced and they’ve made a great impact.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

We work in a scrum process and we haven’t had any troubles. They take part in our daily meeting. They’re working from Poland but it’s like they’re working on location with us. We consider them team members.

The relationship is very transparent and we always know what they’re doing. They’re good at communication and hitting deadlines. We use Jira and an online whiteboard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really friendly and easy to work with. I’m really impressed with their competence.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re happy with them. They’re always trying to find a good solution.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure the people you’re working with from STX Next are personable and friendly. For us, it was very important to us that the person fits with the team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and founder of a communication platform for business schools. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We engaged STX Next to develop our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

STX Next built the backend in Python and the administrative panel using Django. The panel handles our users and databases without requiring our team to code anything. The frontend uses predominantly React and Vue.js, and we’re using CraftQL to create the interface between the front- and backend. Our team spent nine months designing the product before we started this project.

The platform provides a network for users to browse, filter, and search for other users using their profile information. It also features a new group messaging system which allows the user to add many people at once based on their profile info.

What is the team composition?

At the height of development, we had about six people working on the team: two frontend developers, three backend developers, and one full stack developer.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

I reached out to about 23 different partners across the world, and STX Next was one of the ones that made it to the very final round. I found them on Clutch after my COO suggested Poland as a potential area for partnership. STX Next demonstrated technical ingenuity while charging competitive prices, resulting in a nice balance between quality of work and cost.

I'd already gone through and created a backlog of features and functionalities that I wanted. I just needed to know how far my set budget could go through that backlog. A salesperson wouldn't have that level of insight. STX Next had a technical person on the very first call, which was incredibly helpful and set them apart from other partners. That person then took over my team when I chose STX Next for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The platform has launched internationally. We have over 3,300 MBA students and 46 business schools on the platform at the moment. Our site hasn’t once crashed as our user base expands and people experiment with our features—a testament to the quality of STX Next’s work. We’ve received praise from users and our team on the platform. We’re thrilled with STX Next.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

STX Next is highly flexible when it comes to a startup’s needs. We can scale the team as needed and only have to give them a week’s notice. We never have a team member sitting around doing nothing. STX Next also adapts their protocols to meet our preferences and challenges. I can’t recommend them more highly from that perspective.

We use Jira and other Atlassian products to manage our tasks. We used to use Slack for our communication, but we’ve since migrated over to our own platform.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because STX Next has hundreds of resources available, they can scale our team easily. If I went with a smaller company, they’d have to outsource the work whenever we encountered specific challenges. At STX Next, the team can reach out to their network, share and receive knowledge, and bring back a tested solution to our problem.

They are also focused on creating a long-term partnership. STX Next cares about the software they’re building, and it shows in the final quality and user experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Originally, STX Next wasn’t as flexible in giving up its set methodologies to accommodate our needs. However, when we asked to use our money to replace a structured project management process with an additional coder, STX Next agreed. I’m glad they had the flexibility, but it wasn’t an option they considered before our project. It was a learning process for us both.

Any advice for potential customers?

Know your products thoroughly so that you know precisely what you want it to do and what you want to be built. It will save so much money. STX Next will help you prioritize your requests and challenge assumptions you’ve made, but it’s best to be prepared in advance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business development manager for an organization that supports the empowerment of women.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We needed a company to help us reach far more people. We came up with the idea to develop a mobile app so we could send our message to people. We wanted to share our teachings with people and influence them to challenge themselves to be their best, positive self.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our iOS and Android mobile app. The app offers meditation and audio lessons. We have several topics such as relationships, how to set boundaries, and how to be more positive. People can listen to our teachings through audio files. Whenever you want to learn something new, the app is always there with new content.

STX Next followed our branding guidelines in their development of 90% of the designs. We went back and forth and changed a few things until our visions aligned. STX Next is working on the backend, operations, and design.

We postponed the release of the app because the content isn’t to the standard that I want yet.

What is the team composition? 

I worked with the project manager, the designers, and the developers. They are all handpicked. I love each one of them.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

One of my team members searched for the best app companies. We interviewed 10 companies and asked them to give us a sample of their work. It was extremely important for us to work with a company that was on the same level, and that’s what we found with STX Next.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the project is scheduled to be complete in July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We have the beta version of the app, and it’s outstanding. It’s performing well. The internal team loves it.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager is the best. She’s exceedingly organized. There were no frustrations for me. We always had good, open communication with her and the team. We use Slack and InVision to communicate. They deliver on time. They’re detailed and on point. At the end of every sprint, they tell me what they’ve done and what they have planned. They show me the results in our weekly performance meetings. I’m happy with them. They go the extra mile to help me. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great. Once we’re done with this app, we will give them some new projects. Since we’re connected with the people here in the UAE, we’ll propose their services to some of our partners. 

I love that they are so in love with the app and what we do. They want to be part of this social change and empowering women.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they had an Arabic translator, it would give them a good jump.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear vision of the project. Know your goal and vision of the app. STX Next has the tools and the mind to do it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m director of business development at BetDSI. We're an online sportsbook.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We're trying to create alternative methods of playing options for our members.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

STX Next is connecting all of our software backend systems to a chat platform, which allows users to have a synchronous connection with the site. Users are able to handle business, make wagers, and check their account without actually having to log in. They achieve this through cell phone authentication and a chat platform. They also do some design work for banners and landing pages using HTML5 Creative. 

What is the team composition?

There are three people assigned to the betting bot integration, and one for the design elements. I worked closely with Judith (Business Development Representative, STX Next) on setting up the project. Once the project kicked off, I mostly work with Lukas (Marketing Manager, STX Next) and Tomasz (Team Leader, STX Next).

How did you come to work with STX Next? 

I found them on Clutch. I looked at several companies and contacted a few. STX Next was responsive while many others were not. Also, they had a background in working with chat platforms. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

The kickoff meeting happened in January 2019 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Bot integration is due either the end of this month or next month, depending on delivery from our end. The HTML5 designs have helped create a more attractive presence online in terms of client acquisition. Overall, our internal team is quite happy with their work. Everything seems to be working properly, with solid functionality. 

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? 

They've done a good job in project management. All meetings and collaboration have been professional. STX Next works with our managers in a way that's conducive to getting projects accomplished. We set up a series of meetings and a schedule, and they've met all our requirements. They use Trello to regularly update us with status information. Though it’s somewhat complicated on our end, they work well with our two programming groups. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, their responsiveness is most impressive. It's difficult to fully grade their work at this point as we’ve yet to see a finished product. However, I've worked with several other offshore companies and it hasn't ever turned out well. We’re actually seeing positive results from STX Next, which makes them stand out among other service providers.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

There were some issues with our teams getting on the same page at the beginning of the project. We needed information from them in order to create APIs. There was a miscommunication and they were waiting for information from us. Once we worked through who needed to do what, they got the first pieces going. STX Next was ultimately able to deliver what was needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep the lines of communication open and be very specific. One thing we did that was helpful was to create detailed spec documents. Because of our UI/UX capacity, we were able to send them examples of what we wanted. That definitely helped streamline the process. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of operations at a data company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next?

We engaged STX Next to provide supplemental development, QA, and DevOps resources as we continued to build out our internal engineering team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

About 95% of our platform is in the cloud using AWS technology. We rely on STX Next’s DevOps resources to monitor our cloud around the clock and alert us to any system issues.

Most of our internal code utilizes Python. STX Next offers development resources to modernize our processes, including writing a new version of our API that we use to serve our data to our customers. We are also converting our data pipeline to more modern technologies, and we have used the Python developer to rewrite some of those processes, as well. For a short time, we also worked with a QA technician who ran test scripts for us.

What is the team composition?

In addition to the one QA engineer, we work with one python developer and one senior architect, who helped with the onboarding to get the developer accustomed to our system. STX Next also provides 2–2.5 DevOps resources to look after our operation.

How did you come to work with STX Next?

I had a positive experience working with STX Next at a previous company, and I hoped they could replicate that success here.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent less than $200,000 to this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in January 2019 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We became quite frustrated with a previous DevOps vendor that was not proactive in reaching out to us when we had system alerts. Working with STX Next has been a complete turnaround. We never have to reach out to them for crucial information. They are thoroughly communicative. We expect to have them as part of our team for quite some time.

We’ve completed the work with the QA resource, and we initially planned to end our engagement with the Python resource at the end of May 2019, but it’s been such a successful partnership that we are instead looking to extend the support for several more months to help with some additional projects. With their development help, we’ve hit all of the milestones we expected to hit.

How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?

They are quick to respond to all of our messages. They’re reasonable in their approach, and we’ve been completely satisfied. We use Jira to manage their work queue and monitor their tasks. We’ve developed a productive workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The service delivery manager that is our primary point of contact has been wonderful to work with. They’ve been reasonable and flexible to our requests about wanting to extend the contract. They’ve done everything in their power to ensure that the resources initially assigned to us stay with our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing in particular needs improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We benefited from having their senior architect help with the onboarding process of their development resource. That senior figure is one of the more experienced people they have and has dealt with multiple engagements. They know how to make the onboarding period easy. I would recommend utilizing that resource if possible.